Two's company, Three's a Crowd
by Janerey
Summary: Betty's new city apartment was a bigger disaster than we saw on the show prompting her to move in with a "friend" instead.  A/U that takes place in Season 3.
1. Big City Dreams and a Dose of Reality

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: This story starts at Episode 3.01 "The Manhattan Project". I've incorporated some original elements from cannon to place this story, but the change is obviously going to bring some differences in the how everything played out in the episode. From this point on, this story is an A/U. (I guess. I'm still unfamiliar with a lot of the fan fic terminology!) Fair warning – between real life and my writer's block, I might not be updating this story as frequently as I did __**The Pursuit of Clarity**__. _

_DISCLAIMER: Sadly, I do not own Ugly Betty, it's characters, or any ideas, concepts, or storylines originating from the show. Oh yeah, this chapter also contains a few lines of the original script. I don't have any rights to those either, but I needed to borrow them for the placement of this chapter. I do, however, own the right to any original characters or storylines that divert from those in the show. _

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><p><em>Naïve. <em>Her father's words echoed in her head as she sat alone at her desk after work hours, skimming the pages of her idea book. Like the burden of her misguided dream of city living, she was getting tired of carrying around this cumbersome book of ideas that would never come into fruition while working for _Player_ _Magazine._ Betty blinked rapidly and swallowed hard trying to will away the tears that threatened the façade of maturity she was trying to maintain.

How could Papi say she was being naïve for wanting to grow up and have her own experiences? It seemed more naïve to stay under her father's shelter well into her adulthood, living in New York and missing out on the life that pulsated throughout the city. She finished college, got a great job, saved money, and still managed to help out Papi financially. It didn't seem fair that she was forced to grow up much quicker than her peers and then treated like a child when she wanted to make grown up decisions. The more she thought about it, the more hurt she felt that her father disapproved of her plans to get her own apartment and even more so angry that he may have been right.

"Betty? What are you doing here this late?" Daniel's voice cut through her thoughts. "I thought you'd left already."

Betty closed her book and straightened her glasses. "Oh, umm, I'm just transferring the ideas in my book to file. It was getting sort of ridiculous carrying this colossal binder around everywhere I went."

"Well, my mother, Alexis, and DJ are coming down here soon. I bought some dinner since we were all working late. You're welcome to join us," Daniel offered as he placed the bags of take out on the conference table. He glanced over at the Facebook profile inhabiting Betty's computer screen. "And maybe you can tell me why you're _really_ hanging out at work late doing nothing?"

Betty scrunched her face and shook her head, hoping to convince Daniel he had nothing to be suspicious of, but the look he'd come to recognize well only convinced him she was hiding something. He returned her expression with raised eyebrows and a piercing stare – a look Betty had learned meant she was backed into a corner.

She exhaled sharply in surrender. She reached up under her glasses to rub her eyes as a preemptive measure then leaned forward to cradle her head in her hands. Her voice was an indistinct moan behind her palms.

"What was that again? You sound like the adults in the _Peanuts_ comics," Daniel joked to try to lighten her mood.

"I said, 'I'm here because I can't go home.'," Betty admitted.

Daniel grabbed a nearby office chair and rolled it next to hers. He placed a supportive hand on her knee as he straddled the chair backwards.

"What do you mean you can't go home? What happened?" he asked with genuine concern in his voice.

"It's just… after my vacation I was feeling invigorated and empowered, so I told my family that I wanted to move out and get my own place in the city," Betty began to explain as Daniel's eyes widened in surprise. "See? I know it's not very 'Betty-like' to want to do that, but that's precisely why I thought it was time for me to make that leap. I'm 24 years old. It's not that unusual for someone of my age to live on her own."

"True. By the time I was eighteen, my parents had practically _kicked_ me out of the house…"

"Daniel, that's terrible! I'm so sorry about that." As was her custom, Betty immediately shifted her attention toward Daniel's issues.

"No, it was fine. They let me live in one of their other properties, practically rent-free, and I got to do whatever I wanted without them watching my every move," he answered with a nonchalant shrug.

"But I just can't imagine being _forced_ to leave home – ready or not. Eighteen still seems so young to me."

"It was a little scary, but… hey, weren't we talking about you?" Daniel caught on to Betty's diversion. She responded with an embarrassed smile.

"Yeah… so when I told my Papi I wanted to get a place in the city, he said," Betty paused to suppress the impending tears that were working their way to the corners of her eyes. "He said I was being _naïve_! And on top of that, Hilda saw the dump of a place I signed up for – sight unseen – and called me 'stupid'!"

"Wait, you _got_ a place already?" Daniel asked incredulously.

Betty turned her chair to avoid the judgmental looks she would inevitably get from Daniel once he knew what happened.

"Depends on what you mean by 'got'. Did I sign a lease agreement? Yes. Did I put money down? Yeah. Do I have a place to move into? Not unless I was a rat, roach, or toad."

Daniel wanted to berate her for being so impulsive about signing a lease on a place she hadn't seen. At the very least, he wanted to stare at her with his mouth agape, but he knew the last thing Betty wanted or needed was another person telling her she made the wrong decision. She was at work, afraid to go home, because she already knew she was wrong.

"Hey, you're the bravest, smartest person I know. Getting your own place… that's your rite of passage. It's great that you want to branch out on your own," he attempted to comfort her.

"Yeah, look where it's gotten me. A dirty, infested apartment with broken pipes and two inches of water on the floors!" Betty buried her head in the crook of her arm, fogging up the glass top of her desk with her heavy breathing.

"Oh, you didn't mention the indoor pool! That's a plus, right?"

"That's not funny!" her muffled voice snapped back at him.

"Sorry. Too soon." Daniel bit his lip. "So is the landlord going to do anything to repair your place or refund your deposit?"

Betty sat back up, dejection still apparent in her slumping posture. Her bangs fluttered upwards as she let out a drawn out, heavy sigh.

"Yeah. The pipes are all rotted and the water damage is pretty extensive, so they need to do some major repairs before anyone can live there. They _said _they'll have the place ready in four weeks. If it takes any longer than that, I can opt out of my contract. But that's a whole month before I have a place to live _and_ they have all my money."

"There you go! The silver lining! It's better that this happened before you moved all your stuff in. At least everything will be new and improved by the time you move in, right?" Daniel said with forced enthusiasm.

"I know, but in the meantime, I have no apartment, no money, and I just can't go back to my Papi's house and tell him what happened. It's humiliating enough that he thinks I was being naïve. I can't jeopardize my chances of moving out by letting him know he was right!"

Daniel silently deliberated her options.

"You can stay with DJ and me until your place is ready," he finally proposed.

Betty cocked her head in confusion.

"_Your_ place?" Daniel nodded. "Your _loft? _ With you _and _your son?"

Daniel shrugged. "Yeah, why not? It's just temporary. Maybe it would give you and DJ some time to bond."

Betty scoffed. "Daniel, I'm pretty sure your place is crowded enough as it is with DJ moved in. I don't think you have any room at the inn for me. But thanks anyway for the offer."

The elevator doors chimed and slid open revealing the three generations of Meades coming to join Daniel for dinner. Daniel stood from his chair to greet his mother with a kiss.

"Betty! Hey, Daniel has you working late too?" Alexis asked when she caught sight of Betty there.

"Oh, umm, I…" Betty stammered.

"Yeah, I needed her help with some proposals I was working on," Daniel quickly swooped in to rescue her from having to explain her presence at the office. Betty flashed him a look of gratitude.

Alexis gave Daniel a hearty pat on the back. "Sounds like she deserves a raise, Danny!"

Betty gave him a playful nudge in the ribs. "I do what I can to put a roof over her head," he reminded Betty passively.

Claire had already started digging through the take out containers and placing them around the table.

"Daniel, dear, you didn't even get a dish for Betty and you're having her work late? Have I done nothing to teach you manners?" He blushed and shot Betty a scowl. Claire settled herself into a chair at the table and carefully placed a napkin on her lap. "Well, I'm famished. Let's quit standing around and eat already. Betty, you can share Daniel's chicken marsala."

"I can just go," Betty whispered to Daniel.

"I don't think you have a choice anymore but to stay. Come on, half my food has already been betrothed to you," he said as he led Betty to an empty chair at the table and took the seat next to her at the head of the table so they could share their food.

They had only exchanged idle chitchat about _Player, Mode, _and _Hot Flash _for several minutes when DJ turned his attention to his chocolate cake. Betty stuffed her mouth with a large piece of chicken and squirmed in her seat as she silently witnessed the normal father and son debate over whether or not dessert should come before or after a meal. Personally, she was never one to argue against life being too short not to have dessert first, but she was actually proud of Daniel for standing his ground with his son and making an attempt at setting some boundaries for DJ.

Suddenly, as their verbal argument started to become a physical tug-o-war over the cake – a scene not unfamiliar to Betty having grown up with a sister and her father's cooking – the slice of fluffy chocolate catapulted towards Alexis' silk dress which prompted DJ to cackle in typical 13-year-old fashion. Daniel was quick to scold him.

"No, it's fine. Chocolate on silk. That'll come out," Alexis responded passive-aggressively.

"What has gotten into you? Finish your dinner," Daniel commanded DJ sternly.

DJ pushed his plate away. "Je pas faim."

"Fine, you're not hungry? Go do your English homework." DJ glared indignantly at his father causing Daniel to raise his voice at him for the first time. "DJ, I'm not messing around. Right now! Go. _Now_!"

DJ ran off to Daniel's office, cowering from the newfound discipline his father had displayed. The dinner table fell awkwardly silent for a moment before Alexis got up to clean off her dress and Claire excused herself to answer a phone call.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that," Daniel said to Betty as he started clearing the food from the table.

Betty got up to help him clean up. "No, I'm used to family dynamics. It doesn't faze me."

"I can't believe I just yelled at him. I used to hate when my father would yell at us. I don't want to be that kind of a dad."

"Daniel, it's okay to raise your voice sometimes. I've been telling you over and over that you needed to start laying some ground rules with DJ. Kids need that. He needs to know that you care enough about him to make sure he's grows up to be a good person and makes good choices. And sometimes, that means telling him something he doesn't like hearing." Betty held out a trashcan for Daniel to toss the containers and scraps.

"Like when your children are being naïve?" Daniel hinted.

"DJ wasn't really being naïve. He was more in –" she stopped suddenly realizing the implication Daniel was making. "Touché."

"Well, look at you. You have a great, lifelong relationship with your dad and, yet, here you are hurt and upset and not wanting to go home. How's DJ ever going to forgive me?"

"Just remind him that you will always love him and be there for him. He'll come around and respect you more as a result."

Daniel dusted the crumbs off his hands then pulled Betty into a warm embrace. "Thanks. You're a big help. I don't know how I'm going to do this single-dad thing, but it's nice to have your support and advice." Betty squeezed his waist. "You sure you don't want to reconsider staying with us? I could use a buffer!"

"Thanks, but I think I need to go home and talk to my own father." Daniel nodded.

Betty packed up her bag and the burdensome book of ideas and headed back home to Queens.

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><p><em>Please REVIEW! Feedback always gets the creative juices flowing! Thanks!<em>


	2. The Truth is Stranger Than Fiction

_**Thanks for all the reviews! They helped motivate me to write the next chapter. This chapter's a bit short, but it's kind of just a transitioning chapter.**_

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><p>Betty stood in the foyer of her house, pacing back and forth trying to figure out how she was going to break the news to Papi. She figured he'd have no choice but to accept the fact that she was going to move out since she was already in contract to do so, but she was debating whether or not she should divulge all the ugly details. Her hand slowly reached for the handle as she took one deep breath before she entered, tail tucked between her legs.<p>

"Papi? Are you home?"

She peeked into the vacant living room. Part of her was relieved that he wasn't home from work yet, but it felt like the longer she waited to tell him the truth, the worse she felt. She let her bag slip lazily off her shoulder to the floor and balanced her idea book carefully on the small end table. As she turned the corner into the dining room, she was startled by the barrage of streamers and ecstatic faces that jumped out at her.

"Surprise!" her family shouted. "Congratulations on your new place!"

Betty was clearly stunned considering the reception she had gotten when she first proposed the idea to them.

"Wha-what is all this?" she managed to ask.

"Mija, I know I was a little hard on you about moving to the city, but after some thought, I realized it was really just _me_ that wasn't ready to let you go. What can I say? You're my baby girl. But I guess I need to accept when it's time for you to spread your wings and fly. If you feel like you're ready to venture out on your own, I support you and I trust you. You've always been so hard working and responsible, I know you made the right choice." Ignacio planted a kiss on his daughter's forehead.

Guilt was stabbing Betty in the heart. She could feel her face burning up. Just a couple minutes ago, she had finally worked up the nerve to tell her father about the mess she had gotten herself into, but now it was worse than she could have imagined – he was _proud_ of her. All day she had been worried about coming home and telling him he was right and now she was afraid to tell him he's wrong.

"I hope you aren't mad that I told him you found a place already," Hilda said apologetically. "He was going on and on about you finding out how hard it is to find an apartment in the city and that nothing there is affordable… so I told him you found a nice place that is in your budget."

"_Hilda_! You saw the apartment. It was anything _but_ nice. Why would you tell him that?"

"Sure, it looks like they filmed a scene from _Saw_ in there, but you're so creative. I know you'll make it your own in no time. Oh! Wait right here, I got you something!" Hilda disappeared into her salon.

Justin stood up from his seat at the dining table where he was engrossed in his new cell phone. "I'm really gonna miss having you around, A.B., but I have to say, I'm super stoked that you'll be living in the city. You better get a couch big enough for me to sleep in 'cause I _will_ be sleeping over a lot." Betty roughed up Justin's hair to avoid any further talk about having them over to visit.

Hilda came back with a large gift bag. "It was between this or the one that said 'Nice Underwear'."

Betty dug through mounds of gift tissues before she unearthed a doormat that read: "_No B.S. allowed except ME."_

"Hah! Hilda, I love it! It's perfect." She couldn't help but feel moved by their excitement and thoughtfulness, but whatever moments of joy she experienced were quickly squashed by the guilt she felt hiding the truth from them.

Ignacio reemerged from the kitchen toting a very large and apparently heavy box wrapped in leftover Christmas paper.

"Sorry about the reindeer. It's all we had on hand." Ignacio pushed the box across the table for Betty to unwrap.

Betty stared hesitantly at the large package. Their eager faces were all staring at her in anticipation urging her to hurry and open it. Betty timidly obliged, tearing the red and green paper away from the package.

"Wow! Papi, a whole set of pots and pans? This looks way too expensive. I can't keep this! I don't even know how to cook!" Betty exclaimed.

"Well, you can't live on your own and never cook! You'll starve or go broke eating out. I'll give you some of my recipes so you don't miss me too much."

"Thank you, Papi, but I'm sure I'll be here more than you realize." She gave him a bittersweet kiss on the cheek. Each new demonstration of his pride and approval made it that much harder for Betty to admit to him her predicament.

"I made some dessert to celebrate. Who wants brownies?" Ignacio ducked back into the kitchen and returned shortly with a plate of his fudgy, chocolate specialty.

It took all of two seconds for Betty and Hilda to stuff their faces with the brownies and sing a chorus of yummy noises. Just as Justin was reaching across the table to help himself to a piece, Hilda slapped his hand down.

"Uh uh. I don't think so, Mister. You still have half a plate of chile relleno sitting on the table. Finish your dinner first, _then_ you can have dessert."

"Ugh. It's already cold. It doesn't taste good cold," Justin responded with disgust.

"And whose fault is that? Maybe if you actually ate your dinner while it was warm instead of spending all your time texting, the rellenos wouldn't have gone bad."

With a pout on his face and a dramatic flair in his walk, Justin took his plate to the kitchen to microwave.

Betty smiled to herself as she remembered the similar exchanged she had witnessed earlier.

"That kid…" Hilda murmured. "Girl, you are so lucky you won't have to live with a rebellious pre-teen anymore."

Betty stared down at the table as she thought about her living options – both of which included living with a pre-teen.

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><p>The intermittent sounds of a passing car, the lone bark of a neighbor's dog, or the occasional bickering from the Gambaro residence was all Betty heard outside her window as she lied wide awake in her bed wondering what the city must sound like at night. She was having trouble falling asleep. The only thing she hated more than being dishonest with her family was disappointing them. What would Papi think if he knew she made an impulsive decision that resulted in her being broke and homeless in a span of 24 hours? Even the beggars on the street had more drawn out and complex journeys than that. And what would they say if she decided to move in with Daniel instead? Yes, it was only temporary, but she was certain she wouldn't be able to keep them from visiting her for a whole month.<p>

Her cell phone beeped from her nightstand. She rolled over to find a text message from Daniel flashing on her screen.

_THX 4 UR ADVICE! DJ APOLOGIZED. ALL GOOD NOW._

A smile spread across Betty's face as she quickly responded:

_WOW! WTG, DAD! _

They texted each other back and forth for the next 20 minutes – Daniel apologizing for texting her so late and telling her about his hopes and fears as an instant father and Betty going over the celebration that took place downstairs. Finally, Daniel asked her the inevitable question.

_SO WHAT R U GONNA DO NOW?_

She thought long and hard about the answer to that question, as she had been doing in the isolated darkness of her room for the past two hours. Somehow, with Daniel there to respond, she finally worked up the courage to ask –

_DOES UR OFFER STILL STAND?_

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><p><em>Keep the reviews coming! They really help! :)<em>

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Initially, I was thinking Betty would move in with Daniel because she was so upset with her dad, but it seemed too drastic and out of character for them to have that kind of conflict. I felt it did more justice to Ignacio's character to have him eventually be happy for her and Betty not wanting to disappoint him._

**_DISCLAIMER: _**_I do not own Ugly Betty, its characters, or any ideas, concepts, or names originating from the ABC show._


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